A Slice of Lemon
(Kill Rock Stars/Lookout!)
by Joshua Brown
If you enjoyed the KRS comps Kill Rock Stars, Stars Kill Rock, or Rock Stars Kill, then you’ll be into this double CD as well. There are 39 bands in all, each contributing one track.
CD ONE: Chickenhead start us off with that distorto unintelligible-o garage-o punk that never seems to wear thin. Emily’s Sassy Lime are a lot like the Waitresses, who knew how to tell the world to take a flying fuck on a rolling donut and still come off sounding like prim and proper ladies. Men’s Recovery Project give us a simplistic instrumental soundtrack to extreme schizophrenia. Elliott Smith will eventually shake the Lou Barlow comparisons. Solid Gold are like the Stooges loaded with prescription drugs from their dentists. Delightful Little Nothings play jangly, priceless girlpop a la Tiger Trap. Pansy Division give us their queer national anthem of analogy, “Ring of Joy.” Fitz of Depression play intentionally sloppy, fast three-chord punk that works for them in a way I can’t quite describe. Black Fork is temper tantrum rock with snotty little girl vocals. Red #9 play fun, tinny indie punk. Worst Case Scenario is tension wound up to the breaking point. Shaken 69 play ska in the style of the Specials, in contrast to the newer ska/metal/punk hybrids. No Talent are a good sludge band, in the vein of Melvins and St. Vitus. Crumbs sound like a mid-tempo version of the Beasties when they were hardcore. Deerhoof play maddening feedback noise with shy, sedate vocals. Gambling Sounds kinda make me think of a weird mixture of J. Geils, Dead Boys, and the Ventures. Peechees play indie rock stompcore. Waydowns fall between early Neurosis and NoMeansNo. The Couch of Eureka play a Guthrie-esque protest tune and use the word “fuck” more times than you can shake an upside down American flag at.
CD TWO: Excuse 17 do the watery showerpop thang. Potatomen, Larry Livermore of Lookout!’s band, do a bouncy, countrified narrative about a man and a woman. Kitty Cat Spy Club, if they worked at it, could be the soundtrack for a “women in rock” cartoon show like “truly outrageous” Jem. Gashley Snub perform a powerfully unintelligible sludge rant about cats. Bonnot Gang do a character portrait of an antihero, spoken dryly in a Fall-esque British accent, set to a motorcycle rock beat. Third Sex do the typical Bikini Kill grrl thang. Mr. T. Experience‘s “Adjectives” is pop punk’s answer to Schoolhouse Rock. Executioners are Suzanne Vega’s indie twin. Sunnychar are a girlpunk band from Japan who are more fun than anything Shonen Knife have done in a while. Bomb Bassets play smitten shy boy pop punk. The Frumpies‘ track, “Safety First,” makes most garage bands sound like Van Hagar. Teamsters provide us with the soundtrack to a Bugs Bunny Apocalypse. Go Sailor let you peer inside the infatuated world of a timid, lovestruck girl. Dig Yr Grave are Hell’s Bay City Rollers. Rickets sum themselves up with the song title “Diet Punk.” It’s not caffeine free, though! Lice play with underproduced abrasion and no attempt at vocal precision. Tourettes sound like they’ve been happily infected with the syndrome. Cub play the best saccharin unrequited lovepop you’re likely to come across anywhere. Pussycat Trash say it all with their name. Local subway singer turned Rock Star Killer-cum-rock star Mary Lou Lord would be Jan if the Indigo Girls were Marcia.
